Killing a Teammate as a Sacrifice to Heaven
"Fire Fist Ace, it seems your status as the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates has given you confidence? You actually have the courage to stand in front of me again so quickly?" Roy's voice seemed to drift from the horizon, making it impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry.
"If it were your true form, I would naturally stay as far away as possible. But if it's just an avatar of yours, and it's located across most of the Grand Line without any container, then I think I should still have the strength to fight back," Ace said calmly and confidently.
"Really? It seems you know quite a lot." Roy didn't seem to care.
The Vulture, kneeling on the ground, was also sweating and feeling a chill run down its spine, its back cold.
He only just realized that his captain had never been an easy person to talk to; calling him cruel and ruthless wouldn't be an exaggeration. He had little tolerance for failure. If he were a veteran of the Phantom Sword Pirates, it would be one thing, but he was just a rookie with little value who had made mistakes. Moreover, he was in a fit of rage because a group of rookie pirates had summoned the captain's soul and will. This seemed to be a crazy attempt to flirt with death...
Realizing his mistake, Vulture's mind raced, and he quickly shifted his attention, saying, "Nightmare, it was these few arrogant brats who tried to take over Alabasta, even speaking disrespectfully to you. Moreover, even Fire Fist Ace, the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, showed up. I feel that things are not simple. Perhaps it is a test by Four Emperors pirate crew, which is why your will was summoned."
"Really? Well, that's all thanks to you!" Roy said, his eyes slightly narrowed, his tone completely flat.
"It is my greatest honor to be able to contribute my strength to Nightmare!" the Vulture said with a smirk.
His groveling and fawning attitude was so pathetic that even the Straw Hat Pirates couldn't stand it anymore. This guy was, after all, a great pirate with a bounty of 100 million, who had even nearly driven their three main fighters to collapse at the beginning. Now he was so humble that they didn't know what to say.
However, they could also tell from the Vulture's posture that the atmosphere on the Phantom Sword Pirates' ship was definitely not as "harmonious" as that of their Straw Hat Pirates.
Of course, it is indeed rare to see a captain like Luffy who can be easily beaten by his crew. Even the easygoing and gentle Red Hair has absolute authority on the ship. Yasopp and the others might joke with him, but they would never take the initiative to attack the captain.
After all, in a sense, the captain is the core and soul of a pirate ship. A captain without authority will find it difficult to maintain the stability of the pirate crew. Furthermore, it is a major taboo for crew members to hit the captain, and it is not impossible for such an act to be seen as a power grab.
Clearly, the Phantom Sword Pirates and the Straw Hat Pirates are almost two extremes, and Vulture's almost humble posture further proves Roy's supreme status in the Phantom Sword Pirates.
"If that's the case, what are you so nervous about?" Roy's tone was calm and gentle, like a spring breeze, but to the Vulture, it was colder than the biting wind.
"N-nothing... I was just trembling with awe at your immense power, Nightmare..." Vulture said timidly.
"Sigh..." Roy sighed deeply, making Vulture's bones soften instantly. "I can tolerate failure, but I cannot tolerate deception, because deception is betrayal... Let's begin!"
"Nightmare, spare me! Nightmare, spare me! Give me another chance, give me another chance... Ahhh!"
The Vulture lay prostrate on the ground, begging for mercy, but Roy remained unmoved. With a single glance, he triggered a seed buried in the Vulture's soul, and dark green flames instantly engulfed it, causing it to let out a mournful and desperate howl. But its suffering did not last long; in just half a second, the Vulture had turned to ashes.
Glug...
Nami felt that compared to this man, Arlong was as docile as a lamb. He was cruelly killed by his own captain simply for concealing the fact that he had failed. Nami was terrified and also considered whether she should be nicer to Luffy in the future.
Usopp closed his eyes, trembling. He had just seen Nightmare kill the Carrion Vulture who had caused the Straw Hat Pirates so much trouble with a single glance. Didn't that mean that if Nightmare wanted to kill him, he only needed to look at him once?
The brave sea warrior Usopp declared that he would fight with his eyes closed, letting his enemies feel his indomitable will.
"This guy is an extremely powerful Great Sword Master. I would never be wrong about this terrifying aura!" Zoro's hands, gripping the Wado Ichimonji at his waist, trembled slightly as he forcibly suppressed his urge to attack.
"You bastard! He's your comrade! How could you kill your own comrade? I won't forgive you!" Luffy and charged forward, but Nami and Usopp held him back.
"Calm down, Luffy. The opponent is a great pirate that even the Navy and the World Government dare not provoke. We can't provoke them first."
"So what? People who don't cherish their crew don't deserve to be pirates!"
"Heh, this kind of trash doesn't deserve to be my partner. But you, Monkey D. Luffy, your impulsive and irritable nature is completely at odds with your calm and patient Old Man. If I didn't know, I wouldn't believe you're his son." Roy sized up the protagonist of this Pirate World, surprisingly unmoved. For him, past memories were long gone, and only profit mattered.
Luffy's expression froze, and his wildly twisting body stopped. "Huh? My dad? I have a dad too?"
The Straw Hat Pirates were all shocked. What happened to the epic battle? How did it turn into a "Where's Dad?" scenario?
Of course, Usopp and the others breathed a sigh of relief. "Haha, so it's someone we know. Does that mean we don't have to fight anymore?"
Ace was also quite surprised. Although Marco others knew a little about the inside story, they didn't know about Ace's relationship with Garp, so they hadn't mentioned it. Therefore, Ace was very curious about this issue.
"Although many people in this ocean regard me as the source of darkness, to the World Government, your father is the most vicious criminal in the world!"
"Huh? Is my father the Pirate Kings?" Luffy exclaimed in surprise, then nodded thoughtfully. "That's right, I heard his name also has a 'D' in it, and no wonder my grandfather gets so angry every time he hears I'm going to become the Pirate Kings!"
Everyone burst into laughter, and even Roy almost coughed.
Long is truly pitiful; he was cheated on without his knowledge, and it was even his own son who "recognized the thief as his father."
Ace couldn't help but take a deep breath. "I treated you like a brother, but you actually wanted to steal my Old Man?"
Nami couldn't help but grab Luffy by the neck and shake him loudly, saying, "Idiot, the one defined by the World Government as the most heinous criminal in the world is Revolutionary Army Leader Dragon!"